Minimal Data Collection
Minimal Data Collection is a privacy-focused methodology that advocates for collecting only the essential data necessary to achieve a specific purpose, while avoiding unnecessary or excessive data gathering. It emphasizes data minimization principles to reduce privacy risks, storage costs, and compliance burdens. This approach is often applied in software development, data analytics, and system design to ensure ethical and efficient data handling.
Developers should adopt Minimal Data Collection when building applications that handle user data, especially in contexts like GDPR compliance, healthcare systems, or financial services where privacy is critical. It helps mitigate risks of data breaches, reduces legal liabilities, and aligns with best practices in data protection by limiting exposure to sensitive information. Use cases include designing forms, APIs, or databases to only request and store what is strictly needed for functionality.